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to touch

to touch

31 5.5
To add a small amount of color to something
  • verb
  • /tʌtʃ/
translation icon : retocar
  • I need to go into town and find a place to get my highlights touched up.

So yeah, I'm just touching up my lip now.

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Examples

  • "I can touch this one up," she said, touching the name the way Rose did.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Laura, can you just touch up her lipstick?

  • So let me just add a touch so you can see here.

  • So I'm also going to add a touch here as well.

  • And then I literally just barely touch it to the skin.

  • I was just gonna touch up my makeup.

  • I'm adding just like a final touch of the darkest red.

  • I'm just going to add a touch more and it looks very seamless.

  • I'm going to touch some of that on my cheeks.

  • She decided to add a touch of pink to her cheeks for a fresh look.

Synonyms

to color
vsto touch
  • US
228 1.0

To make something a different shade by painting or dyeing

means adding only a very small amount rather than a full change of hue
to tint
vsto touch
24 3.6

To add a small amount of color to something

describes very light coloring rather than strong recoloring
to tone
vsto touch
19 4.9

To change the color or shade of something

emphasises setting an overall shade rather than a tiny color spot
to shade
vsto touch
10 3.9

To change something a little to make it less strong

focuses on a single small color addition rather than a gradual shift
to touch up
vsto touch
8 3.8

Make small changes to something to improve how it looks

is specifically about adding a small amount of color not general fixes
to tinge
vsto touch
1 4.8

To add a small amount of color or feeling to something

is limited to adding only a small amount of color
to tinct
vsto touch
  • Archaic
9.9

To give something a very light color

is the common small color action rather than a rare term
to handcolor
vsto touch
  • Archaic
8.1

To add color to a black and white photo or print by hand

is about adding small color without specifying manual method

Antonyms

50 3.2

To make something lighter in color, often using chemicals or sunlight

Idioms

92 4.9

Not aware of recent events or people's feelings

66 2.3

A small amount of something added to improve or change it

46 3.0

A small extra detail that makes something look or feel better

No longer have the skill you once had to do something well

to touch a nerve
  • Informal
7 7.7

Make someone feel upset or defensive by mentioning a sensitive subject

3 9.3

To tell viewers or listeners to keep watching and not change the channel during a break in the show

To become less good at something you used to do well

Make someone feel strong emotion or sympathy

Midas touch
  • Informal
3 8.1

A special ability to make money or do well in many things

to touch a chord
  • Informal
2 5.8

To make a person feel a strong emotion

1 6.1

A natural ability to do something well

1 9.1

Tell someone not to change the radio or television channel before a show returns

Refuse to be involved with people or things that seem dangerous and dishonest

A rude slang way to say someone shows small signs of autism and may offend people

8.3

You say it to try to stop bad luck after saying something good

Ask an important person for help or a blessing

Phrasal Verbs

155 2.3

Contact someone after not talking for a while

87 3.4

To mention something briefly without giving details

Continue to talk or write to someone after you move away

45 3.6

To land on the ground after a flight

15 7.4

Make an event or strong reaction start suddenly

to touch oneself
  • Offensive
14 9.8

To touch your own private parts for sexual pleasure

14 3.5

To make brief contact to give or get an update

8 3.8

Make small changes to something to improve how it looks

3 4.0

To affect something or someone, often slightly

To put a plan aside and often leave it without action

8.4

To take a break from online life and spend time outside in nature

To touch your own sexual parts to feel pleasure at night

Compounds

A last small detail that makes something look or feel complete

19 2.7

A screen you touch to control a phone or tablet

touch-and-go
  • Informal
9 7.2

A situation that is dangerous or uncertain until the last moment

8 3.2

A version of American football where players touch the player with the ball to stop them instead of tackling

8 3.9

A small repair to make something look better

4 3.9

A gentle, brief contact made with little force

The ability to feel things through the skin

2 4.6

A way of connecting with ordinary people that makes them feel understood

A small extra detail that makes something feel nicer

golden touch
  • Informal
1 5.2

A skill for making projects succeed easily

1 3.7

A gentle way of touching or handling people and objects

1 4.6

A form of football where another player stops someone by touching them with both hands

bad touch
  • Offensive
1 9.0

Unwanted physical contact that makes someone feel scared or uncomfortable

A small detail that makes something look beautiful and special

1 3.6

A way to use all fingers on a keyboard without looking at it

touch-me-not
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A plant with seed pods that burst when you touch them and release seeds

1 4.1

Used for small repairs that make something look better

1 5.4

A person who uses a keyboard without looking at the keys

A small detail that makes something look brighter and happier

game of two touch
  • Australian
8.4

Touch football where another player touches someone twice to tackle them

9.8

A tendency to make everything a person touches fail

touch perception
  • Specialized
4.5

Ability to feel pressure, heat, or pain on the skin

touch modality
  • Specialized
7.0

The sense that lets you feel objects through physical contact

A small amount of care that makes something special

touch sensation
  • Specialized
3.9

A feeling on the skin when something presses or rests on it

To type by pressing keys without looking, using trained finger positions

touch-me-not
  • Specialized
9.5

A plant with leaves that fold together when you touch them

soft touch
  • Offensive
7.0

A person who easily agrees and can be taken advantage of

5.5

A practice where soccer players control and pass the ball using two touches

two touch
  • Jargon
6.2

A football exercise where each player may touch the ball only twice before passing

How Tinted

to dye
37 2.2
to paint
854 1.0
to tint
24 3.6
to touch
31 5.5
to tinge
1 4.8

Surface Forms

touch infinitive
touched past
touched past participle
touching present participle
touches third person singular

Etymology

Touch comes from the old French toucher, meaning 'to make contact', and by extension it came to mean adding a small amount, which is why we say a color or blush 'touched' something when it gives just a little change.